MICHEL Barnier has warned Theresa May to “make choices” if the United Kingdom wants to conclude a timely Brexit deal with the European Union.

The EU’s chief negotiator insisted there was no longer the “advantage of a lot more time” as he pressed Westminster to put forward proposals to break the bitter Irish border impasse.

He also signalled Brussels will not budge on its demand for a permanent backstop to be included in the withdrawal agreement.

Speaking alongside Slovakian prime minister Peter Pellegrini on his so-called ‘tour des capitales’,Mr Barnier warned the Prime Minister that “the clock is ticking” on the time she has to deliver a fresh British backstop proposal.

The EU official also rejected the possibility of a so-called “independent review mechanism” that would allow Britain to unilaterally revoke the terms backstop in the future.

“I don’t want to go into the details, we’re willing to consider improvements to the backstop but we need to reach an agreement for this backstop and we need a genuine backstop, an operational backstop to the point.

“Backstop means backstop. And a backstop cannot have a time-limit.

“We alway said a backstop will stay in place unless and until another solution is found in the context of the future relationship.”